Messa da Requiem

Dramatic Sacred Oratorio / Requiem Mass for Four Soloists, Double Chorus & Orchestra • Music by Giuseppe Verdi

Often called 'Verdi's greatest opera in ecclesiastical robes,' the Messa da Requiem (1874) was composed in memory of Italian writer and national hero Alessandro Manzoni. Across seven movements, four operatic soloists and a massive chorus confront the terror of death, the apocalyptic trumpets of the Last Judgment ('Dies irae'), personal guilt ('Ingemisco'), and a desperate human plea for deliverance ('Libera me').

📜 Libretto Edition, Source Links & Other Versions
Libretto Edition Used on This Page
Traditional Roman Catholic Latin Requiem Mass (Missale Romanum), with the 13th-century 'Dies irae' sequence attributed to Thomas of Celano, as set by Giuseppe Verdi (1874, Milan: Ricordi).
Primary Sources & Archives
Note on Other Librettos for This Opera

The Latin text of the Requiem Mass is canonical and centuries old (100% public domain). Notice that in the 'Kyrie' movement, the liturgical text switches briefly from Latin to ancient Greek ('Kyrie eleison' / 'Christe eleison').

🎭 Cast of Characters
Soprano Soloist Soprano
Mezzo-Soprano Soloist Mezzo-Soprano
Tenor Soloist Tenor
Bass Soloist Bass
🗺️ Character Relationship & Drama Map
Original (LA)
Translation (EN) • English
Explanation • English

Part I: Introit ('Requiem') & The Apocalypse ('Dies irae')

Moving from hushed, whispered mourning to the cataclysmic trumpets of the Last Judgment.

Movements I–II – Eternal Rest, Day of Wrath & The Wondrous Trumpet

LA Original (IT)
CORO
(sottovoce, sulle note sommesse dei violoncelli)
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
1
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
2
CORO (A CAPPELLA)
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem.
3
SOLISTI E CORO
Kyrie eleison! Christe eleison! Kyrie eleison!
4
Translation (EN)
CORO
(whispered sottovoce over muted cellos)
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord,
1
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
2
CORO (A CAPPELLA)
A hymn befits Thee, O God, in Zion, and to Thee a vow shall be paid in Jerusalem.
3
SOLISTI E CORO
Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
4
LA Original (IT)
CORO
(con violenza terribile; quattro colpi d'orchestra e gran cassa)
Dies irae, dies illa,
5
solvet saeclum in favilla, teste David cum Sibylla!
6
Quantus tremor est futurus, quando iudex est venturus, cuncta stricte discussurus!
7
(squilli di trombe vicine e lontane dall'invisibile)
Tuba mirum spargens sonum per sepulcra regionum, coget omnes ante thronum!
8
BASSO SOLO
(con voce cupa e sbigottita)
Mors stupebit et natura, cum resurget creatura, iudicanti responsura.
9
Translation (EN)
CORO
(with terrifying violence; four orchestral hammer-blows and bass drum)
Day of wrath, that dreadful day,
5
shall dissolve the world into glowing ashes, as David and the Sibyl foretold!
6
What trembling there shall be, when the Judge shall come to examine everything strictly!
7
(fanfares of onstage and offstage trumpets echoing from all corners)
The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound through the tombs of every land, shall summon all before the throne!
8
BASSO SOLO
(in a dark, awestruck whisper)
Death and Nature shall stand stunned, when all creation rises again to answer the Judge.
9

Part II: The Sinner's Plea ('Ingemisco', 'Lacrimosa') & Final Deliverance ('Libera me')

From the intimate solo confession of a trembling human soul to the final plea for deliverance from eternal death.

Key Excerpts – 'Ingemisco', 'Lacrimosa' & 'Libera me'

LA Original (IT)
TENORE SOLO
(dolce ed espressivo, come una confessione personale)
Ingemisco, tamquam reus: culpa rubet vultus meus; supplicanti parce, Deus.
10
Qui Mariam absolvisti, et latronem exaudisti, mihi quoque spem dedisti.
11
Preces meae non sunt dignae, sed tu bonus fac benigne, ne perenni cremer igne.
12
SOLISTI E CORO
(Lacrimosa – su una melodia di pianto spezzato)
Lacrimosa dies illa, qua resurget ex favilla iudicandus homo reus.
13
Huic ergo parce, Deus! Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem! Amen.
14
Translation (EN)
TENORE SOLO
(tender and expressive, like an intimate personal confession)
I groan, like a guilty man: my face blushes with guilt; spare the supplicant, O God.
10
Thou who didst absolve Mary, and didst heed the thief on the cross, hast given hope to me as well.
11
My prayers are not worthy, but in Thy goodness deal kindly with me, lest I burn in everlasting fire.
12
SOLISTI E CORO
(Lacrimosa – over a weeping, sighing melody)
Full of tears shall be that day, when from the ashes shall rise guilty man to be judged.
13
Spare him therefore, O God! Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest! Amen.
14
LA Original (IT)
SOPRANO SOLO
(quasi parlato, su una sola nota tremante)
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda,
15
quando coeli movendi sunt et terra, dum veneris iudicare saeculum per ignem.
16
Tremens factus sum ego et timeo, dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira.
17
SOPRANO E CORO
(dopo una grande fuga corale, tutto si spegne in un sussurro estremo: ppp)
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna... Libera me! Libera me!
18
Translation (EN)
SOPRANO SOLO
(almost spoken, trembling on a single monotone pitch)
Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that tremendous day,
15
when the heavens and the earth shall be shaken, when Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
16
I am seized with trembling, and I am afraid until the judgment and the coming wrath arrive.
17
SOPRANO E CORO
(after a blazing choral fugue, the entire work dies away in an urgent whisper: ppp)
Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death... Deliver me! Deliver me!
18
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